The New York City Council recently announced a proposed amendment to Administrative Code 24-163.9, which changes the lifespan of school buses and require electric school buses.
Introduction 455 changes the lifespan on all nonelectric school buses from 16 to 10 years of use after the original manufacturing date. The introduced amendment also states that as of the year 2040, all school buses in New York City that are subject to Department of Education contracts must be replaced with all-electric, zero-emission school buses.
According to the NYCDOE, there are currently bus contracts covering 8,000 routes that serve 150,000 students daily.
“[Going all-electric] means better air quality for all New Yorkers,” said Michael Mallon, a spokesman for Office of NYC Council Finance Chair Daniel Dromm.
Councilmember Dromm is listed as the prime sponsor of this introduced legislation.
The proposal also addresses the lifespan of CNG and hybrid school buses. After 2020, all school buses of these fuel types can only be used for 10 years after the manufacture date.
“We believe that 10 years after manufacture is an adequate, sensible period of time,” Mallon said.
Neither the bill summary nor the bill itself made mention propane or gasoline school buses. Mallon said these buses will be allowed until 2039.
The bill summary said that onsite chargers would be required to power the electric buses. However, this stipulation is not found in the actual bill. Mallon said the legislation may be revised, following a planned hearing on Dec. 17, so that the language appears in the actual bill.
